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Friday, August 28, 2015

Lemon Meringue Pie (#TheBookClubCookBookCC)

It's the second month of The Book Club Cook Book Cooking Crew! This month, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson was up for creating a recipe inspired by the book and was chosen by Andrea over at Adventures In All Things Food!

This book follows Bryson and his friend's experience walking the Appalachian Trail. I had never heard of this book and wasn't really sure if I'd like a memoir about nature. When some of the ladies were mentioning how hilarious they found the book, my interest was piqued! And, yes, this book was comedic and very pleasant to read. I was also surprised to see that a movie was coming out based on this book, and I'm waiting anxiously until it arrives in theaters and I hope they were able to reflect some of their unique and crazy experiences!

One of the recipes featured in The Book Club Cookbook was Very Yellow Lemon Meringue Pie, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make this pie from scratch! Growing up I was never the biggest fan of lemon meringue, but it was my mom's favorite (still is, she says!) and would buy it for a special treat. I knew that this would be a great pie to make and take over for my family's Sunday dinner.

For this recipe, I decided to use my own pie crust (Easy Homemade Pie Crust) rather than the one in the recipe because it's my favorite pie crust and I was a little apprehensive trying a new crust recipe. This recipe also calls for only 5 tablespoons of lemon juice. It just didn't seem enough, so I used nearly half a cup of fresh lemon juice. The flavor was amazing and was like a lemon curd, but it was also a little more runny. So feel free to use more lemon juice, just with the caution that it won't set up as beautifully as it would have using less lemon juice.

The result? My mom was absolutely in love with this pie. Not only did she pick the biggest slice, but she also had two huge slices-- something she rarely does. And we usually have some dessert left over, but the only thing that remained was an empty dish and my dad trying to scrape out any leftover pie filling. It was seriously that good! Store bought lemon meringue just doesn't compare!

This recipe takes a lot of dishes and a considerable amount of time. But, this is a great recipe that I'm going to be making for special occasions or for special requests.

Also, head over to Adventures in all Things Food to see what other bloggers have done for their own recipe creations from A Walk in the Woods. Thank you Andrea for choosing a delightful book! And look below for a giveaway of The Book Club Cook Book!

I will be hosting The Book Club Cook Book Cooking Crew, so check back at the beginning of the month to see which book and recipe I've chosen!

Giveaway

This month Andrea at Adventures in all Things Food, this month's host, is giving away a copy of the book.* Enter to win a copy of the cookbook so you can join us in future months, if you wish!

One of our lucky readers - US and Canada only! - can enter to win a copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, courtesy of Tarcher-Penguin. Giveaway runs from August 1st till August 31st at 6 o'clock PM, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below. Many thanks to Tarcher Books. You may find Tarcher: on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway*Disclosure: Andrea received a complimentary copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp to use in this year-long project plus the opportunity to give a copy away. Opinions are our own. We received no further compensation for our posts.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prick the crust with a fork and blind bake it for 8 - 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

For the filling, beat the egg yolks to combine and set aside.

Combine the lemon peel and juice in a bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1/3 cup water. Bring up to a simmer, whisking constantly till it thickens. Set aside to cool.

Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch, salt and 1 1/2 c. cold water in a saucepan. Bring up to a simmer, whisking frequently. The mixture will become clear, then start slowly adding the egg yolks and whisking vigorously to prevent curdling. Once all the yolks are added, add the butter and lemon mixture. Keep whisking for another minute, then remove from the heat and cover to prevent a skin from forming.

Make the meringue by combining the last 1/2 cup sugar and cream of tartar in a bowl. Beat the egg whites and vanilla until they foam. Then add the sugar mixture, one spoonful at a time till soft peaks form. Then add the cooled cornstarch mixture to the egg whites a spoonful at a time. Beat until you have stiff peaks.

Gently heat the filling and por into the pre-baked pie shell. Top with spoonfuls of the meringue mixture. Bake until the meringue is evenly browned, about 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature and enjoy!